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Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 350
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** Supporting Characters: * * ** Eany and Meany * ** * Antagonists: * ** Erik the Red's robots * * ** ** ** ** ** ** ** Other Characters: * Bounty hunters ** ** * * ** * * * * * * * * * ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** * * * * * * * * * * * Locations: * ** * ** Erik the Red's base * ** *** **** * Items: * * * The Vehicles: * | Notes = *This issue revisits the events of the Mutant Massacre crossover from 1986-1987 and retcons additional scenes and a new origin for the Marauders. That they were agents of Mr. Sinister was established following the Massacre, since Sinister only debuted in 1987. That Gambit was the man who gathered the Marauders and recruited the individual members was previously unknown, since Gambit debuted in 1990. Various hints to an involvement of Gambit with Sinister and his agents were previously given, but remained cryptic until this issue. *Archangel blames Gambit and the Marauders for indirectly causing several negative events in his life. His original organic wings were severely damaged by the Marauders during the Mutant Massacre. What remained of his wings was amputated in (March, 1987), leaving Warren in a suicidal mood. He was shortly after captured by Apocalypse. He was given a new set of bio-metallic wings, a blue skin, and a reprogrammed personality as a killer and agent of Apocalypse. While he eventually regained his free will, some of the changes in his physiology and life were permanent. *The retcon about Gambit helping the Marauders locate and infiltrate the Alley of the Morlocks partly contradicts the original story. In (October, 1986), at least part of the Marauders does not know where the Alley is and has to follow a female Morlock by the name of Tommy in order to find out. Fan theories and later retcons, attempting to reconcile the two stories, suggest that the Marauders were divided into smaller groups and each made their own way into the Alley. The group led in by Gambit certainly included Sabretooth, but the identities of the others are unclear. *There is a contradiction between the narration of Psylocke's flashback and the art that accompanies it. Psylocke names Arclight among the Marauders recruited by Gambit, but the art does not depict Arclight. The one depicted is Malice possessing the body of Polaris. This is probably an error. Malice's possession of Polaris started in (July, 1987). That was several issues following the Mutant Massacre, instead of preceding it. *Erik the Red notes that the names of most victims of the Mutant Massacre are unknown but names two of them as Prism (misspelled "Prizm") and Scaleface. The accompanying statues visually match the characters but there is an obvious error as neither one was a victim of this Massacre. **Prism did die in the Massacre, but not as a Morlock. He was a member of the Marauders and was killed by Marvel Girl in (November, 1986). Also mourning him is a bit strange, because Mr. Sinister has since revived him a number of times. **Scaleface was indeed a Morlock but the Marauders failed to kill her. She was among the initial survivors of the Massacre but was killed by the human police in (December, 1986). *The issue repeatedly states that by the time Gambit started working with Nathaniel Essex, his wife Belladonna was dead. It is unclear to what event this is referring. According to the origin story given in X-Men Vol 2 8 (May, 1992), the couple's marriage was an effort to ensure peace between the Assassins Guild and the Thieves Guild. An unnamed brother of Belladonna, later identified as Julien Boudreaux, was against the marriage and challenged Remy into a duel. Remy killed his brother-in-law in self-defense, and the Clans decided to exile him to avoid further conflict. Gambit separated with Beladonna when she was very much alive and it is unknown what kind of "death" could have befallen her. She was still alive when they next met in 1992. *The two statues of the fallen, one masculine and one feminine, that Psylocke encounters are never identified by name. However a few internet sites do make educated guesses. **The masculine figure has a thunderbird emblem on his uniform. He is probably Thunderbird/John Proudstar, a deceased member of the X-Men. **The feminine form wears a long dress, slit on both sides. This is reminiscent of the original uniform worn by Blink of Earth-295 (the Age of Apocalypse reality). The artist probably confused this Blink with her Earth-616 counterpart, Blink, a supposedly deceased prospective member of Generation X. Neither of the two Blinks was actually deceased and both went on to further appearances. *Besides revealing the guilty past of Gambit, the other key event of the issue is the return of Magneto, though his identity is kept secret until the finale. This was a surprise at the time of publication, as Joseph was supposed to be an amnesiac Magneto. The issue introduces a mystery with two versions of Magneto running around. It was later revealed that the real Magneto, who was in a catatonic state when last seen, was healed by Astra. While Joseph is a clone of Magneto created by Astra. *Magneto is the third person to use the Erik the Red identity. The first was Scott Summers and the second was Davan Shakari. He is the only one of the three of them to be actually called "Erik" in his civilian identity, as his real name at the time of publication was supposed to be "Erik Magnus Lehnsherr". *Magneto decides to keep the Erik the Red armor, which he finds ridiculous, in prospect of reusing the identity. This never really happened. The only person who has kept reusing the identity is Davan Shakari, though he rarely makes any modern-day appearances. *In this issue, Gambit receives a vial as payment by Mr. Sinister. The contents of the vial were not revealed. An explanation was given by writer Fabian Nicieza in Gambit Vol 3 (1999-2001) which fleshes out Gambit's history. After leaving the Thieves Guild, Gambit's energy powers continued to grow and reached a point where he could no longer control them. He needed brain surgery to reduce his powers to a manageable level, and turned to Nathaniel Essex for help. Essex removed part of his brain and kept it as a genetic sample. The vial contained the sample, which Gambit did not trust in Essex's hands. *The underage Morlock girl that Gambit rescued from the Marauders is obviously Sarah, later known as "Marrow". The flashback of this issue is one of her earliest chronological appearances and precedes her debut in 1994. Gambit does not know her name and it is unclear if she knows his. She technically owes her life to Gambit, though the characters have had minimal interaction over the years. *Maggott happily greets Joseph as "Magneto" and also recognizes the real identity of Erik the Red, though he is clearly confused at seeing two Magnetos. He trusts Magneto either way. The explanation of this trust was given in Maggott's origin story in (June, 1998). There Magneto saves the life of a young Maggott, rescues Maggott's family and hometown, helps Maggott give "birth" to Eany and Meany, and explains to Maggott what being a mutant means. *Psylocke has access to Gambit's memories of the Marauders, because the two X-Men mind-linked in (September, 1995). He considered killing her to protect his secrets in (March, 1996), though he apparently decided against it. In this issue, Gambit claims that his decision not to kill Psylocke proves that he is not a villain. *It is only Rogue in this issue that decides to kick Gambit out of the X-Men and leave him stranded in Antarctica. The rest of the X-Men are not consulted. Fans of the time were not happy with the decision or her characterization, and felt that she was effectively trying to kill Gambit. Later issues partly absolve her or murderous intent, hinting that she had not only absorbed Gambit's memories and powers. She had apparently also absorbed Gambit's self-incriminating guilt and his intense self-loathing, making her hate the man with a passion. *Nearly every character in this issue managed to escape the collapsing building and survive, though the means of their escape were mostly explained or hinted at in other issues. The major exceptions are Grovel and Spat who were mostly forgotten about by subsequent writers, and so if they escaped was never explained. A subsequent adventure of Gambit has revealed that Spat is still alive and that Remy found a way to prevent her from further aging backwards. *This issue largely concludes the storyline of the starfaring X-Men introduced in #341. This is the last issue of the series to feature the regular cast introduced in (February, 1997), while an entirely different cast appeared in . Following this issue, both series start featuring the same cast. *The Marvel Chronology Project, which tracks character appearances, has the following information about the characters of the issue: **Archangel next appears in (February, 1998). **Beast next appears in (December, 1997). **Cyclops and Cannonball's previous chronological appearances were in (November, 1997). Their next chronological appearances were in (December, 1997). **Maggott, Joseph, Eany and Meany next chronologically appear in (December, 1997). **Ferris' previous chronological appearance was a flashback in (September, 1999). His next chronological appearance is in (February, 1999). **Gambit's next chronological appearances are a flashback in (September, 1999), flashbacks in the promotional publication , a full appearance in (April, 1998), and a full appearance in (September, 1997), the start of a number of solo adventures. He does not make contact with the X-Men again until (November, 1998). **Grovel's next chronological appearance is in the Gambit Cyber Comic. **Jubilee's previous chronological appearance was in (November, 1997). Her next chronological appearance was in (November, 1997). **Magneto's next chronological appearance was in X-Men Vol 2 72 (February, 1998). **Phoenix's previous chronological appearance was in Wolverine Vol 2 118 (November, 1997). Her next chronological appearance is in X-Men Vol 2 70 (December, 1997). **Professor X's previous chronological appearance was in X-Men Vol 2 67 (September, 1997). His next chronological appearances are flashbacks in X-Men Vol 2 83 (January, 1999), and a full appearance in (December, 1998). **Psylocke's next chronological appearances are in Iron Man Vol 3 1 (February, 1998), and (March, 1998). **Rogue's next chronological appearance is in (December, 1997). **Spat's next chronological appearance is in the Gambit Cyber Comic. **Storm's previous chronological appearance was in (November, 1997). Her next chronological appearance is in (December, 1997). **Trish Tilby's next chronological appearance is in X-Men Vol 2 70 (December, 1997). **Wolverine's previous chronological appearance was in in (November, 1997). His next chronological appearance is in (December, 1997). **The first flashback involving Gambit and Mr. Sinister takes place: ***for Gambit, chronologically following a flashback in (August, 2008), and the 15th page of (August, 2009). It is then followed by the 16th and following pages of X-Men Origins: Gambit #1, by another flashback in X-Men: Legacy #213, by flashbacks in (August, 1999), by a flashback in (September, 2000), and by his full appearance in (August, 1990). ***for Sinister, following a flashback in (August, 2008). It is then followed by the 16th and following pages of (August, 2009), by other flashbacks in X-Men: Legacy #213, by a flashback in (January, 1987), by a full appearance in (February, 2009), and by his first full appearance in (September, 1987). *When Gambit listens to the voice of Erik the Red, he mistakes it for the voice of Mr. Sinister. This is a plot point that is never really explained in the issue, and Remy is supposed to be intimately familiar with the voice of his former employer. There are some fan theories in the Internet that suggest that Sinister was initially supposed to have a larger role in this issue. *It makes sense that Magneto would want to punish those responsible for the Mutant Massacre. He even tellingly defines the massacre as a "holocaust", which speaks volumes when coming from a Holocaust survivor from World War II. However, Gambit does not stand out as the most obvious target for a trial. Remy recruited the Marauders and led them into the Alley of the Morlocks, but he is only indirectly responsible for the massacre. He was unaware of the purpose of the mission and never killed anyone. The actual killers are the members of the Marauders themselves, who Magneto did not pursuit and put on trial. And the one ordering the massacre, the mastermind behind the entire event, was Mr. Sinister. "Erik"/Magneto does not even mention any plans to make Essex pay for his crimes. *The conversation between Magneto and Ferris implies that that "Erik"/Magneto was not only interested in exposing Gambit as a "war criminal" and agent of Mr. Sinister. He mentions this minor victory as part of his efforts to work at the gradual erosion of the forces set against me. In this case, he managed to make the X-Men distrust Gambit and remove him from their ranks. However, subsequent appearances have cast doubt of this move being part of a larger plan. Magneto makes no apparent effort of further sowing mistrust in the ranks of the X-Men, so there is no further erosion. *While the X-Men make several guesses at the real identity of Erik the Red, curiously none of them suggest that this could be Davan Shakari returning to the role. While Davan is not a particularly active character since his 1970s heyday, he was not actually dead at the time of publication. In fact, he has made a number of subsequent appearances. *The issue makes a point that Magneto does not want his enemies to know of his return, so provides a reason for him to use a new alias. Why he chose the Erik the Red identity was, however, never explained. He could have just as well created an entirely new identity for himself. *Psylocke was a teleporter at the time of publication, with her "Shadow Teleportation" being able to travel great distances. However in this issue she performs a blind teleportation from New York City to Antarctica with minimal effort. While certainly an impressive feat, there is really little to no explanation how she managed that. She was investigating the "darkness" within Maggott and this somehow led her to tracking down Magneto? *Psylocke obsesses about Maggott for much of the issue and Archangel suspects that she is romantically interested in the man and wants to spend time with him. This subplot is dropped in subsequent issues, when all three characters serve with the X-Men. *Psylocke claims that all the Marauders-relevant memories she took from Gambit's mind were inaccessible to her until this issue. This seems somehow questionable, as there has been quite some time since their mind-linking. How could she have forgotten until it was plot convenient? *Rogue has spend the last few issues proclaiming her love for Gambit and trying to make him open up about his secrets. He worried that if she knew these secrets, Rogue would not be able to forgive him. It turns out in this issue that he was right all along. She no longer loves him, no longer trusts him, and is incapable of forgiving him. *Gambit compares his villainous past to that of Rogue herself, who was a supervillainess before joining the X-Men. While this is a good reminder to those who mostly see her as a heroine, it might also serve as foreshadowing. The finale of the issue suggests that Rogue still has a cruel streak. She not only leaves Gambit stranded in Antarctica, she leaves him exposed to the elements. He is shirtless when she leaves him. | Trivia = *This issue has 37 pages of story because it was supposed to be a landmark issue of the series, with additional dialogue, artwork, and subplots. *This issue only credits Steven T. Seagle as its writer, but departing writer Scott Lobdell is considered an uncredited co-plotter. The Gambit storyline that Lobdell has been advancing for several issues concludes in #350, with Lobdell's clues to Gambit's past being revealed in full. *This issue marks the first issue of the series credited to Steven T. Seagle as a writer. Seagle had worked in comic books since the late 1980s, but his highest profile work before this issue was a long run (57 issues) in the Sandman Mystery Theatre by Vertigo. * Steven T. Seagle was the main writer of the Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 series from issue #350 to #365 (December, 1997-February, 1999). He wrote 15 regular issues and no annual. He replaced Scott Lobdell as main writer and was himself replaced by Alan Davis (with Fabian Nicieza as Davis' initial co-writer). *This is the last issue of the Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 series where Joe Madureira served as an artist or co-artist. Madureira had a relatively lengthy run in the title and was credited as an artist in issues #312-313 (May–June, 1994), #316-317 (September–October, 1994), #325-326 (October–November, 1995), #328-330 (January–March, 1996), #332 (May, 1996), #334-338 (July–November, 1996), #340-343 (January–April, 1997), #345-348 (June–October, 1997), and #350 (December, 1997). *Departing artist Joe Madureira is known for combining Western comic book influences with aspects of Japanese manga. He is credited with helping popularize this blend in mainstream American comics. He is also considered one of the most recognizable and influential X-Men-related artists of the 1990s, though he has his detractors. *The Yorick-relevant monologue which the Beast performs with the decapitated head of Nanny derives from the theatrical play "Hamlet" (written between 1599 and 1602) by William Shakespeare. In the play, the protagonist Hamlet sees a gravedigger exhume the skeletal remains of a male human. He discovers that a skull is all that remains of the court jester Yorick. He follows this with a monologue about his memories of the beloved jester of his childhood and how the grim sight of the skull affects him. The theme of the scene is mortality. It was part of a then-popular depiction of mortality, which combined scenes of life with symbols and reminders of the inevitable death of all mortals. Such depiction are usually described with the Latin phrase "memento mori" ("remember that you can die"). *The Code of Hammurabi, mentioned by name in this issue, is a Babylonian law code from the 18th century BC. It contains 282 laws, legally defining various aspects of Babylonian life such as social stratification, matters of contract, family relationships, and punishments for major and minor crimes. It was discovered by modern archaeologists in 1901, and was considered for a time the oldest law code in human history. This is now known to be inaccurate as archaeologists have found evidence of older law codes. The oldest surviving one is considered to be the Code of Ur-Nammu from the 21st century BC. There is also some written evidence for the existence of older codes, which have been lost in the intervening millennia. However Hammurabi's Code remains as an example of a longer, more complete, and more comprehensive law code than most other codes from this era of antiquity. *Hammurabi, the king whose name appears in the Code of Hammurabi, ruled Babylon for 42 years in the 18th century BC. He was the 6th King of the First Babylonian Dynasty, and was of Amorite descent. He was a major conqueror of his era. At the start of his reign, Babylon was still one city-state among many. By its end, it controlled an empire in Mesopotamia. The empire survived its creator and his dynasty lasted until the early 16th century BC. *The Ten Commandments, which Trish Tilby mentions in this issue, are also known as the Decalogue. They are covered in detail in two Books of the Bible (Book of Exodus and the Book of Deuteronomy) and receive mentions or allusions in several others. They were supposedly divine laws offered to the Israelites by their leader Moses. Despite their prominent position as religious laws in Judaism and Christianity, modern scholars remain uncertain who wrote the Commandments. Their historical period of origin is uncertain, with dates as early as the 14th century BC and as late the 6th century BC supported by different scholars. The matter of their role in society, as possible part of the laws of an ancient kingdom or purely religious laws, is also disputed. *When Trish Tilby mentions the Ten Commandments, the Beast immediately mentions actor Charlton Heston (1923-2008). Heston was a famous American actor with a lengthy film career, lasting from 1941 to 2003. One of his most notable roles was playing Moses in the epic film "The Ten Commandments" (1956). The film was a major box office hit of its time and is still considered significant in film history. *The issue first introduces the idea that Magneto and Joseph are separate characters. Joseph was previously depicted as an amnesiac Magneto seeking redemption. Joseph in fact continues to serve as a hero in subsequent X-Men stories of the 1990s, while this version of Magneto is clearly ruthless and villainous. Neither Steven T. Seagle nor Scott Lobdell have been credited with this idea. The popular theory is that this was an editorial decision. As the story goes, the editors were more interested in Magneto as a villain, rather than a heroic member of the X-Men. *One of the complaints fans had with this issue is that Rogue seems to sentence Gambit to a cold death in Antarctica, and this contradicts the moral code of the X-Men. By this reasoning, the X-Men do not kill. This is a bit of a double standard, since the X-Men seem to have no problem with including Wolverine. The man is known for his lethal methods and ruthlessness. | Recommended = | Links = }}